Public can still comment on controversial pipeline to Lake Superior

1:17 PM, May 7, 2013

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

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The U.S. State Department has extended the public comment period on a controversial proposal to expand a Canadian tar sands oil pipeline to the western shores of Lake Superior.

Respondents now have until midnight Monday to weigh in on Canadian oil transport giant Enbridge Energy’s plan to expand its Line 67 — or Alberta Clipper — pipeline. The comment period was originally slated to conclude April 29.

As reported in the Free Press April 14, Enbridge is seeking federal approval to nearly double the capacity of oil shipped on Line 67, a 36-inch diameter line that runs 1,000 miles from the western Canadian oil sands region east to Superior, Wis., on the shores of Lake Superior. If approved, the pipe could ship up to 880,000 barrels of oil per day — more oil than the controversial Keystone XL pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp. from Canada to Texas that has caused an environmental outcry and fierce debate in Congress.

Enbridge officials cite increasing demand for Canadian tar sands oil by refineries throughout the Great Lakes, including the Marathon refinery near Detroit. But concerns exist about the sludgy product being shipped through the pipeline, known as diluted bitumen or dilbit. It requires mixing with lighter petroleum products to move it through pipes. Environmentalists argue it’s a far harsher product on pipelines and much more difficult to clean up when spills happen.

It was dilbit released during the worst inland oil spill in U.S. history, a July 26, 2010, Enbridge pipeline breach in Marshall that devastated wetlands, a nearby creek and the Kalamazoo River. The product combined with river sediments and sank to the bottom, making traditional oil cleanup booms and surface skimmers less effective. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this spring ordered Enbridge to perform additional river bottom dredging to continue the cleanup, for which the company recently revised the price tag to more than $1 billion.

Interested individuals and groups can comment on the environmental issues they believe should be addressed in the Line 67 expansion project.

Written comments can be addressed to: Genevieve Walker, OES/EQT Room 2726, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520. Comments can also be emailed to EnbridgeLine67permit@state.gov.

Project details and environmental information on Enbridge’s application are downloadable by visiting the State Department’s website, www.state.gov, and searching “Line 67.”